The Country Not Allowed to Defend Itself

Have you heard a narrative this week that goes something like this?

“Israel is evicting Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem.” 

“Israel’s police stormed the Al Aqsa Mosque, beating peaceful worshippers.” 

“Gaza started shooting rockets into Israel, and Israel is carrying out disproportionate strikes in retaliation. Dozens of Gazans have been killed, including ten children.” 

“The international community urges Israel to de-escalate the conflict as soon as possible.” 

This is the narrative that you’ve been hearing in the mainstream media this week; right? In case you haven’t guessed it yet though, they are completely wrong. Let’s separate fact from fiction. 

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan ended two days ago. Typically, Ramadan is a time of increased tensions and violence between the Palestinians and Israel. Imams preach fiery sermons against Israel in the mosques, the Arab youth get stirred up, and as a result, rocks are thrown, fires are started, and riots are prevalent. This year was no different. 

Several weeks ago, Palestinians began attacking Jews, mostly in Jerusalem, filming the incidents, and uploading them to TikTok. The most infamous video showed an Arab slapping a Jew in the face on the Jerusalem light rail. Unfortunately, this was one of the lighter attacks. These TikTok videos encouraged other Arabs to turn to violence over the past several weeks. 

On the last Friday before the end of Ramadan, there was increased unrest in Jerusalem and on the Temple Mount. The media reported that Israel stormed the Al Aqsa mosque, but afterwards, photos and videos began surfacing of the Palestinians stockpiling rocks and other weapons on the Temple Mount and inside the mosque beforehand. The riots on the Temple Mount ended in a massive fire, with flames shooting high into the sky over the Western Wall on the evening of Monday, May 10th. 

With violence and riots already on the rise, Palestinian leaders decided to use the issue of Sheikh Jarrah to spark even more attacks. The details of Sheikh Jarrah are long, but in short, there are a number of homes in Jerusalem that belonged to Jews before 1948. The courts of Israel recently recognized these properties as belonging to Jews and ordered that the Arabs living there be evicted. 

Hamas and the Palestinian leadership decided to take up the Sheikh Jarrah issue as their excuse to take the violence to the next level. 

On a personal note, I was in Jerusalem on Monday, May 10th to celebrate Jerusalem Day. My family and I were on a street not far from the Old City waiting for the annual Jerusalem Day parade to start. About 5:40 PM, I happened to take a quick glance at the news, and saw that Hamas had issued an ultimatum to Israel: remove the security forces from the Temple Mount and remove the forces stationed in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. If Israel did not meet this demand by 6:00 PM they would begin launching rockets at Jerusalem. 

True to their word, about 6:03 PM, we suddenly heard the air raid siren. After pulling to the side of the road next to a concrete wall (there was nowhere else to go), we heard several distinct explosions. A few minutes later, it was reported that a house in an outlying Jerusalem neighborhood had been struck by shrapnel from a rocket that landed outside. The location was only 4.5 miles from where we were standing. 

Since the first rockets were fired on Monday, Israel has been under attack by Gaza. In the last three days, nearly 2,000 rockets have been fired into Israel. Ironically, 300 of these rockets didn’t make it to Israel, but landed inside of Gaza, causing damage to its own population. Seven Israelis have been killed from the rocket attacks as well as 200 injured. 

To date, Israel has called up more than 10,000 IDF reserves, and is considering a ground invasion into Gaza. 

Since the majority of the mainstream media is 100% biased against Israel, let’s get a few facts straight concerning this current conflict with Gaza and the Arabs in Israel:

• Israel did not start this conflict. It started because of TikTok videos showing Arabs attacking Jews, the volatile season of Ramadan, and calls by Arab leaders for violence. 
• The evictions in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood were merely an excuse for Hamas to begin shooting rockets at Israel. 
• Israel’s response to the rocket attacks is not disproportionate. Israel does everything in its power to avoid hitting civilians when striking Gaza. IDF drop leaflets, make phone calls, and “knock” the buildings before bombing – all in an effort to warn civilians to evacuate from the area before an airstrike takes place. Hamas however, is determined to allow its own people to be killed by Israel so that they can blame them in the international community. This is evident by the more than 300 rockets that have been shot from, and landed back inside the Gaza Strip. 
• Israeli Arabs in Israel have been using this opportunity to attack Jews in their cities. Pogroms, reminiscent of Kristallnacht, have been taking place in Israeli cities, with major violence, riots, and attacks against their Jewish neighbors. 
• Palestinian Arabs have also been taking advantage of the conflict by setting fires, rioting, and committing terrorist attacks. A 19-year-old Yeshiva student was killed at the Tapuach Junction in a shooting attack just last week. 

As Christians and Israel supporters, now more than ever we need to stand unconditionally with Israel. Don’t be intimidated by those who condemn Israel. Share the truth. Spread the real story of what is taking place here. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.